Addressing a meeting of the Government’s standing board on the situation during the nine-day Tet holiday on February 11, the first working day after Tet, PM Phuc also pointed to existing problems such as the still high number of traffic accidents and the unlawful use of firecrackers, urging relevant agencies to do their jobs better.

Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung delivered a report, which said many enterprises, organizations and philanthropists had joined hands to help the needy and those in disadvantaged circumstances have a happy Tet.

The holiday period saw high numbers of domestic and international tourists during the period, the report said, adding that Vietnam was among the 13 great places to celebrate the Lunar New Year as selected by the CNN.

It is noted that no food poisoning case was reported during Tet. The number of traffic accidents in the period dropped by 1.6 percent from the same period last year to 276, claiming the lives of 183, down 27.5 percent.

However, traffic rule violations were still rampant, and the setting off of firecrackers, which has been banned, was reported in 13 localities nationwide.

The minister also reported that farmers started working in the fields as early as the second day of the lunar year. As a result, winter-spring rice has been planted in around 420,000 ha of land in the northern region, and the planting of rice is slated to be completed by February 28. Meanwhile, southern localities have completed the planting of rice, with 32,000 ha more put under rice compared to the same period in 2018.

Mentioning tasks to be carried out after Tet, the government leader required all ministries, localities and sectors to promptly resume work. He urged tightening working rules and discipline, stressing that administrative agencies must not organize trips to attend festivals or visits to pagodas during working hours.

Ministries, sectors and local administrations should continue to reform working style to fulfil the tasks set for this year with the best results, PM Phuc said.